That would be regrettable, but it only partially addresses the threat that the Internet, or rather networking in general, poses to oppressive regimes around the

That would be regrettable, but it only partially addresses the threat that the Internet, or rather networking in general, poses to oppressive regimes around the world (which is to say, the vast majority of governments around the world). A balkanization of the Internet would reduce that threat considerably, and especially with regard to outside influences of course, but would not come close to eliminating it. The threat I'm talking about is just people talking to each other, and coordinating their actions. The only way to totally stop that is to basically ban computing devices at all, or at least ban their networking Battlestar Galactica style, and at that point you're condemning yourself to a 70s-ish economy in the best case, which means you're not going to compete with other nations in trade nor in military strength. Kind of defeats the purpose of having an oppressive regime in the first place, which is mainly about controlling and enslaving your people while playing at "realpolitik" pissing contests on the international stage. I look at the Internet as basically a return to the status quo, after a century where national governments could monopolize the mass media and thus monopolize speech. Those days are over, and not even a balkanization of the Internet will bring them back. Oppressive regimes increasingly will have to choose between going full DPRK, or trying their hand on a more even playing field (compared to 50 years ago). So far they have unanimously chosen the latter, and there is every reason to think they will continue to do so.